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No bread is an island

...entire of itself. (With apologies to John Donne!)

I live and breathe breadmaking. I’m an evangelist who would like everyone to make his or her own bread. I want to demystify breadmaking and show it as the easy everyday craft that it is. To this end I endeavour to make my recipes as simple and as foolproof as I possibly can.

I call my blog 'No bread is an island' because every bread is connected to another bread. So a spicy fruit bun with a cross on top is a hot cross bun. This fruit dough will also make a fruit loaf - or Chelsea buns or a Swedish tea ring...

I'm also a vegan, so I have lots of vegan recipes on here - and I'm adding more all the time.

About Me

Torn away from the bosom of my family at the tender age of 18 - and never lived in my home town of Blackburn again. The RAF took me to HK; After a hitch of four years I emigrated to Australia and joined the RAAF, which took me to HK where I met my wife of 43 years. I then joined GCHQ which took me (us, with 2 children now) back to HK. Retired at 55, trained as a teacher of adults, gained a 2:1 in Teaching and Training at Plymouth Uni (which I thought went well with the 2 'O' levels with which I left school). And I've been teaching breadmaking ever since. Now running 6 or 7 classes a week, plus the odd Saturday workshop. My passion is breadmaking - or perhaps I should say the teaching of breadmaking; I'm also very interested in early development; And I like to cook - but I consider myself to be pretty average. I have a wife, two children, a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law and three grandchildren, (who can all make bread) who come and stay with us in the holidays and half-terms. Away from my family, I'm happiest teaching a Family Learning group, with parents and children, none of whom have made bread before. I get a real buzz out of turning people onto breadmaking.

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Thursday, 8 April 2010

I use two different methods to make this – one of my most popular breads. I originally made it as a quick bread, using self-raising flour and done in a frying pan (baked in an oven it is not as moist). Now I often do it using a yeast risen dough, baked in the oven and also in a frying pan – both are equally good. Any dried fruit will do, but apricots are my favourite - the dark, unsulphured ones, of course.

Yoghurt is fairly traditional in this recipe, but as I'm a vegan I don't use it. If you wanted to use some yoghurt as part of the liquid you may need to add a little more liquid - depending on how thick the yoghurt is.

Similarly, almonds are often used in this recipe - but I'm not a fan.

Once again, this is a recipe that anyone can play around with - just use the ingredients that suit you.

Method:The secret of any quick bread is to have everything ready beforehand and work quickly. So oil a large frying pan and put it on a low heat. Mix dried ingredients and measure liquids. When everything is ready, add the water and oil and stir it quickly into a dough. Be ready to add more water or flour if needed. Take it out, shape it into a flattened ball and, after flouring your worktop, roll out into a circle the size of your frying pan. Place it in the frying pan and increase the heat to medium.They should take about 4-5 minutes each side to bake.

Method:Place dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour the lukewarm water over the yeast and stir to dissolve. Add the olive oil. Mix into a dough, adding more water if needed. Knead for about a minute or so to distribute the ingredients properly.Using the frying pan, follow the instructions as above.Oven baked, roll out to a size that will fit your baking sheet, place on the lined baking sheet and leave until the dough becomes puffy.

Bake at 200c/425F or gas 7 for approximately 12 minutes. Check for some colour underneath to see if it is cooked properly.